VIETNAM – HO CHI MINH (SAIGON) – An Old Lady with a Backpack

FEBRUARY 14 – 21, 2026

Ho Chi Min did not start on a good note. We had arranged for a taxi to take us to our guesthouse. When we got there, no one was there to meet us and I had not received a message on how to enter the building. I tried to call the number provided but no one answered. We literally sat on the step and contemplated what to do. We saw the lights of a hotel nearby and considered going there. A kind young lady came up to us and asked if we needed help. YES. We explained our situation. Her English was not that good but she fetched a young man whose English was much better. He called the same number that I had tried and managed to get through, on his own phone. He spoke Vietnamese to the person on the other end, then hung up and told us that someone would be coming shortly to let us in. A kid showed up, gave us the entry code and took us to our room. Then he wanted us to pay him cash. I had booked on Booking.com and assumed it was all paid for in advance. How many times have I said “Never assume”? It turns out that nearly every place we booked we had to pay in cash.

Because of the previous night’s drama and adventure, we were tired the next day, so we did not venture far.

VINH NGHIEM PAGODA was a short walk away. As with the temples at Angkor Wat, we found the pagodas in Vietnam basically all the same, with some differences between them. They usually all have a gate to enter through, a tower of varying heights, a temple with a Buddha statue, a few or many bodhisattvas, offerings of food and water, incense, incense, incense and a bell.

This pagoda had a jade Buddha carved from a 8128 kg (8-ton) block of Canadian jadeite. Whether it is the real one or not is debateable, as the original tours the countryside. One thing I noticed in Vietnam is how they like their colourful lights everywhere. As you can see, there are neon lights surrounding the Buddha.

The LADY BUDDHA is very much revered in Vietnam. The story we were told is that she is the Goddess of Mercy who can see, hear and sympathize with the people of the world. (kind of like the Virgin Mary) She is the patron saint who protects the fishermen. Locals have been believing that since her presence in the early 2000s, typhoons don’t hit their hometown. Most temples also had a Lady Buddha, of varying sizes.

Most temples also have lots of orchids. This one had enormous bouquets of orchids throughout the entire temple.

Behind the temple was a columbarium.

As usually happens when we have an easy day planned, we packed it full. We kept walking until we came to the WAR REMNANTS MUSEUM. There were tanks, a helicopter, flame thrower and anti-aircraft guns in the courtyard.

A side building had reproductions of the “TIGER CAGES” where the South Vietnamese government kept political prisoners. Graphic photos added veracity to the display.

Inside the main museum were exhibits focusing on events going back to the First Indochina War that began in 1946 and continuing until the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. Many of the exhibits exposed war crimes committed by the French colonialists and as well as the Americans during the Vietnam war.

This museum sees about a half a million visitors every year, with about two-thirds being foreigners. It presents history from the North Vietnamese point of view, some argue by not really contextualising the “facts”. That said, it does open one’s eyes to things as the people saw and experienced them. It doesn’t much matter if the Americans had reason be believe the people of My Lai were enemies or not. The final result was a massacre of up to 504 civilians, mostly women, children and elderly men, murdered by U.S. Army soldiers. Some of the women, and girls as young as 12, were gang-raped and their bodies mutilated. The bad intelligence could be forgiven (sort of) but the rape and mutilation???? That is undefendable and unforgivable.

There was an entire section dedicated to the use, and after effects of AGENT ORANGE and other defoliant sprays. 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to Agent Orange. Some of the diverse side effects of exposure are cancer, respiratory, liver problems, endocrine and nerve damage. The worst side effect is the genetic and chromosome mutation which is still being seen 4 generations later. Children are born with severe birth defects such as paralysis, blindness, deafness, mental retardation, cancers and deformities. There were first hand accounts from victims. Foreign soldiers were also exposed to the chemicals and suffer the same consequences. Some foreign governments have compensated their troops. I did not read anything that said the Vietnamese were compensated.

A few days later we went to an art studio that employed disabled people. We were shown how they use egg shells and sea shells to create beautiful works of art. Her dress is made from egg shells and her hat from sea shell.

The use of napalm and phosphorus bombs was also covered. Napalm burns at temperatures ranging from 800 to 1,200 °C (1,470 to 2,190 °F). It burns longer than gasoline and adheres to its targets. Who has not seen this picture of the little girl burnt from the napalm?

Many of the photographs were taken by photo-journalists from around the world. Many of those journalists were killed in the effort to get the real stories out. At the time, stories dribbled out piecemeal, but seeing it all in one place really struck me that no matter where in the world you live, what political affiliation you may have, or what religion you are, a Mother’s plight for her children is the same all over the world. Maybe it is time for women to rule, for the sake of our children.

The main floor of the museum had an exhibit showing protests around the world telling the United States to get out of Vietnam. I understand that there will always be people on opposite sides of almost every issue. Each side is packed with emotion and reasons why their view is correct and the other is wrong. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. It is important to have an open mind and to hear both sides of the story. I was beginning to see the another side to a story where I had only heard the American version. Weeks later, in Hanoi, I met a young lady at another military museum. At first she was wary of my questions regarding her view on the Vietnam war (they call it the American war) But when she realized I was genuinely curious and interested, she opened up. We have since kept in contact and she readily answers my text questions, from the Vietnamese point of view. It is eye-opening, to say the least.

INDEPENDENCE PALACE was the home and workplace of the president of South Vietnam, until a north Vietnamese tank crashed through its gates on April 30, 1975, thus ending the Vietnam war. It is commonly known as the Fall of Saigon.

The palace is still used as a convention hall for state events, but its main function is a museum. The place was large and spacious. There seemed to be more open space than functional space. It certainly looked and felt like a place to impress visiting dignitaries.

Some things of particular interest were the helicopter pad on the roof; which was always at the ready for the president and the two red circles that showed where bombs actually hit. There was a bunker in the basement that had a shooting range.

Nearby the palace was a FLOWER FESTIVAL. It must have been a flower fair, because I saw plants with, what looked like, winners tags. The bonsai trees were really interesting. Some of the bonsai flowering trees had very unique trunks. I asked someone how old these trees were. He replied at least 50 years old.

There was an orchid display housed along a beautiful bamboo screen. There were many frilly and colourful orchids that I have never seen before.

CITY HALL overlooks Nguyễn Huệ Boulevard, where there is a statue of HO CHI MINH.

The boulevard is a massive pedestrian-only thoroughfare that leads up to the SAIGON RIVER WATERFRONT.

We were fortunate to be in Ho Chi Minh for the TET LUNAR NEW YEAR festivities, which took place along the boulevard. Masses of people came out to see the festivities and fireworks the evening of February 17. Most shops and businesses were closed, or limited hours the day before, during and after the holiday. It was similar to Christmas in Canada. People travel back home and huge family gatherings are prepared.

People arrived hours before the fireworks display. Vendors were doing a great business of selling bits of cardboard for people to sit on while they waited.

I don’t know if this is a regular thing, or just for TET, but the buildings were all lit up in crazy colours. Some had digital displays of horses galloping, stars falling, or flags waving. This building had fireworks shooting out of the top and sides while the main fireworks display was going on over the Saigon river. It was hard to know which way to turn.

It is the YEAR of the HORSE and there were horse decorations everywhere! We stayed in Vietnam for over a month, and the decorations were still on display.

We went to the HO CHI MINH CITY MUSEUM. It was a small museum. It was here that we learned about the LION DRAGON DANCE. We had seen these characters at the TET festival, dancing and jumping from pillar to pillar. Originally, the lion dance was part of martial arts training, which is why they are so agile. The dance aspect of the martial arts went on to become its own specialty school.

On the day we went to CU CHI TUNNELS (separate blog) we also went to a bee farm where they collected ROYAL JELLY. It is a honey bee secretion that is fed to the larvae. The larvae of the new queen is fed copious amounts of royal jelly. There is some research that claims consuming a tiny amount of royal jelly is good for humans. We bought a few jars. We held hives of bees and they did not bother us at all.

I got brave and held a PYTHON.

We went to a COCONUT CANDY factory, where they wrapped each candy by hand.

Then we went on a peaceful BOAT RIDE along a waterway.

Back in Ho Chi Minh City we did the typical touristy stuff. We like to walk as much as we can because it is healthy and because we see stuff we would never see in a vehicle.

The CENTRAL POST OFFICE was more of a market than a post office. You could still buy a stamp and mail a letter, but it was mostly just very crowded shops selling junky trinkets. An interesting piece of history is the old telephone boxes that still remain. Some have been converted to photo booths for selfies.

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL was covered in scaffolding and not open, but that did not mean it was less of a tourist attraction – especially at night. All of the scaffolding was covered in lights.

Even the round abouts were decorated.

The streets were lined with big, colourful decorations. I think it was just for the TET celebrations.

We saw several disabled people hanging around the temples.

HIGHLAND COFFEE is like our Starbucks. They are everywhere! One happened to me a few feet from our hotel. I ordered an ice-coffee and got this with gelatin coffee bits in it. As with most restaurants and the language barrier, it was always a surprise as to what we would actually get. One time Pierre ordered a coffee and got a matcha, which is green.